Partial breast necrosis after myocardial revascularization

The use of the internal mammary artery (IMA) as well as implants of the autologous saphenous vein is a common procedure in myocardial revascularization The major complications related to IMA are associated with the surgical wound, such as osteomyelitis and sternal dehiscence, which occur in 0.5% to 5% of cases. 2 Infection of the median sternotomy is relatively infrequent but is a severe complication. Three decades ago, the mortality rate associated with such infections was close to 50%, but now with the use of sternal debridement and reconstruction with various flaps, (rectus abdominis myocutaneous, pectoralis major myocutaneous, and latissimus dorsi) or single muscle flap, it is less than 10%. 3 The association of cardiac surgery with partial or total breast necrosis is extremely rare, even in the presence of